I have 6 rides on it as of now and I am very happy with the build, and choice of Hub motor/its power.
First I will talk about the bike I chose for the build, since this thread is to both to show the long term experienced DIY builders/authors that I took the advice that many of you have thankfully contributed , and learned from your mistakes.
and to also perhaps guide the newcomers .
Then further down I will talk about the motor/wheel build/controller/battery pack, then later some performance data . ( only 6 rides so far )
For the Bike I chose the 2014 Diamondback Lux 27.5 women's mountain bike for several reasons ( the 2015 is the same exact bike ).
1) I did not find a good priced, used, full suspension bike fast enough .
2) The Lux has very good/thick dropouts, in which to bolt the big axle/nuts of the hub motor to .
3) The Lux has good standover height , which is important for dismounting when you have panniers/items on top of a rear rack, and dismounting at anytime.
4) The Lux is a 27.5 inch ( 650b ) wheel bike, so it will be current for a long time to come.
5) With the 27.5 inch wheels and wide 54 mm road/touring tires I put on , it has almost the same outer tire diameter as a road bike, so I can really roll down the road.
6 ) It is priced very good, $ 600 , however it often goes on sale for $ 500 plus tax.
7) At apx $ 550 you have money for component upgrades/changes, or you can keep it stock.
